


Bad Things Happen Bingo: Dehydration

by taylor_tut



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Dehydration, Drug Withdrawal, Fever, Gen, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 14:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18593068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_tut/pseuds/taylor_tut
Summary: Basically just "if Five had happened to find Klaus as he detoxed alone in the study after Diego ties him up and leaves him there."





	Bad Things Happen Bingo: Dehydration

Five blinked past the locked door—why did they even bother locking them these days? Klaus and Ben could tag-team to get in anywhere they wanted, Luther and Diego could pick locks, and Allison and Vanya had good enough sense to ask Grace for keys—and into their dad’s study, hoping that he wouldn’t have to look any further for his brother since he really didn’t enjoy having to keep track of where everyone was all the time. It had been so easy with Dolores—it was always a pretty safe bet that she was still hanging out in the last place he’d seen her—but jumping back into a life with five relatively active siblings, none of whom had cell phones, was overwhelming. 

“Diego,” he called, startling when his eyes spotted someone tied up in a chair, something he definitely hadn’t been expecting, and by this point, he knew better than to even HAVE sights that could surprise him. Klaus’ head rolled from its place against his chest, allowing Five to see his ghostly pale face and exhausted, sunken eyes. 

“Hey, little brother,” Klaus greeted, his voice barely even audible. 

“I was,” he started slowly, “looking for Diego.” 

“Oh,” Klaus replied. “He was here.”

“Yeah, clearly,” Five muttered. This seemed like one of those perplexing Diego-Klaus interactions that he remembered from childhood, in line with the time they covered everything in Luther’s room with aluminum foil and the time they taped a knife to a bird that flew in through Ben’s open window. “What the fuck are you doing?” 

“Drying out,” Klaus said with a wan smile. It was then that it clicked that Klaus was detoxing, and Five felt his heart rhythm pick up uncomfortably. In front of him was a bucket that he’d clearly been sick into a few times, and his hair, though dry, was stuck to his forehead, probably from having been drenched in sweat. 

“And Diego left you here alone?”

Klaus shrugged, seemingly never phased by how little care anyone showed him. “I pissed him off,” he explained, “crossed a line.” 

Five shook his head, would have rolled his eyes if Klaus had still been looking at him, but he’d let his eyes slip shut. 

“You’re all useless,” he mumbled. He crossed the room toward his brother, the errand for which he’d needed Diego all but forgotten, and began to untie Klaus from the chair, but his hands hesitated after he’d worked at the knot for a few moments and finally registered the worrisome heat pouring off his back in waves. “Are you running a fever?” he demanded, and Klaus actually smiled. 

“Wouldn’t be a detox without one,” he replied way too cheerfully given the situation. Five had known that it was dangerous to let someone detox by themselves, that it could lead to seizures or heart attacks, but he had never watched someone go through it before and the fever was news to him. He reached for Klaus’ face and his eyes went wide at the dry, blisteringly hot skin of his forehead and cheeks. 

“Fucking Christ, Klaus,” he muttered. “That’s—how long have you been in here alone like this?” 

“Dunno,” he shrugged. “When was the last doomsday meeting?” Five felt his blood begin to boil. 

“You’ve been tied to a chair since yesterday morning,” he verified, “detoxing with no supervision?” 

“Ben’s been here,” he defended. Five wasn’t sure if he was trying to be cheeky, but he was willing to bet that he wasn’t solely based on the fact that he didn’t think Klaus was coherent enough for sarcasm at the moment. It seemed to be taking all his energy and focus just to keep up with the simple questions that he was being asked, not to mention joking about them. 

“Have you had food? Or water?” Klaus paled. 

“Wouldn’t stay down, anyway,” he replied. Wordlessly, Five blinked to the kitchen for a glass and filled it with water from the tap and blinked back. He shoved it at Klaus, who startled as if he hadn’t even noticed he’d left. He hadn’t moved even despite that he was now free from the restraints and able to get up and stretch his back and legs, which he probably desperately needed to do.

“Drink it,” he commanded. “If it doesn’t stay down, you’re going to the infirmary.” He’d probably end up taking him there for an IV, anyway, but if Klaus knew that, he probably would refuse to drink the water, and Five really would just feel less anxious if he were able to watch him drink it. Maybe that was dumb, but who was going to judge him for it? Klaus? Ben? Not likely. 

“Sorry,” Klaus said, his voice sounding a little stronger after having sipped at the water. Five frowned. 

“For what?”

Klaus shrugged. “You seem mad.” Damn it, that was a thing that always upset Dolores, too; he always seemed angry when he was concerned. It figured that of all their siblings, Klaus would be the one that would pick up on that, and it was even more fitting that he’d apologize for it. They’d always assumed that it was the ghosts—the constant noise of having vengeful, screaming souls in your ear all the time and having no idea what they wanted or how to appease them—that made Klaus reflexively apologize when anyone raised their voice or seemed upset. 

“Not at you,” Five dismissed. “But I’ve got words for Diego.” Before Klaus could respond, Five pointed at his hand and commanded, “drink your water,” in a voice that left no room for argument, and he obeyed. After the water, he’d make sure he got cleaned up and into an actual bed, somewhere he could be looked after until he was confident that it would be safe to leave him alone. For now, they just sat silently in their dad’s study, clocking in what Klaus would probably consider quality bonding time before the end of the world. They didn’t speak and they certainly didn’t touch, but it was still somehow dangerously intimate for Five. He’d just have to make sure he kicked Diego’s ass that much harder for his troubles.


End file.
